The business of power: before it gets better by Akinola Odunukan

This is very interesting article detailing electricity issues in Nigeria by Akinola Odunkan.

Beyond the direct benefits which power offers us, such as the luxury of sitting in our houses and being able to make use of numerous devices which run on electricity, it holds a much larger ace.

Breaking it down to the simplest terms, for that woman on the streets who grinds pepper, her machine depends on power which means it holds the key to her revenue which in turn sustains her survival.

On a larger scale, large firms have to run on generators or alternative sources of energy, industries suffer because they could not sustain their existence without an available and constant supply of electric power. As a result of the same, investors who are in already, begin to weigh their options and consider other destinations, while those who are prospecting are almost certain to get discouraged. The overall effects of this are responsible for the decline of an economy which naturally would have held a lot of potential for growth.

Will we ever have uninterrupted power supply? Constantly, this has been the question on everyone's lips. Indeed, many have concluded that it holds the key to real industrial and economic development for us as a nation. Now with the privatisation of the power sector, there seems to be great prospects which technically signal progress at last. Much of this has to with the final processes of unbundling the PHCN – the central power company – which has held a seemingly immutable monopoly of the sector for so long. Even in the face of overwhelming challenges over the years, this body trudged on, but the consequence has been a destabilizing trial for the economy – many run-down businesses and comatose investments, all because they could not effectively sustain the alternatives.

Thankfully it is not a case of gloom and doom, Enter the ‘Gencos’, the ‘Transcos’ and the ‘Discos’. If that sounds more like rhymes - no, it is not a subtle play on words, but a tangible reference to the newly apportioned arms of the privatized initial PHCN whole, meaning: Generating Companies (Gen-Cos), Transmission Companies (Trans-Cos) and Distribution Companies (Dis-Cos). Hopefully, these arms which function as different companies with various respective capacities of generating power, transmitting the service, and distributing the end product for consumption at different levels - would be able to provide a lasting answer to the main question raised earlier about someday having uninterrupted power supply.

From research, it is estimated that for a nation like ours to function maximally on electric power, we would need to generate as much as 40 000 megawatts of power. As it is now, we are not even close to the 10 000 megawatts mark yet.. But the good thing is that we are on the right path. However, many are quick to compare it to the telecoms sector and the progress achieved over the last twelve years, since the first GSM call was made. The word here is caution, because before it gets better, it could get worse. Like every positive endeavor, it would have to go through its own teething problems before it turns the bend, and finally we have stable power.

Interestingly the investment companies are coming with their expertise, and they would be making use of different sources of energy to generate power, which would then be transmitted and subsequently distributed, nationwide. Essentially, it should open up the entire power sector to a new influx of expert hands and bring about huge business opportunities. This could create jobs, bring about competition and hopefully make power available at affordable rates. In the end the economy should benefit greatly, with a reversal of the negative trend which had initially been the case.

At this rate it is tempting to believe that all of power problems would soon be over, however, it is a process and not a miracle that would take place overnight. This we must understand. Overall someday, it is hoped that everywhere would be lit up, and there would be enough to power our economy and maybe export to neighboring countries, let’s hope the time comes sooner rather than later.